This invention relates to a system for controlling the maneuvering of a vehicle and more particularly to such a system suitable for use in controlling the rudder or plane of a submarine or the rudder of a surface vessel which affords alternative manual or automatic control.
In control systems for vehicles such as submarines and surface craft, servo systems utilizing synchros are generally utilized to implement the control of the maneuvering members (rudder, planes, etc.) in response to both manual and automatically generated control inputs. In many systems of the prior art, it is necessary for the operator to actuate a "mode" switch to change operation from automatic to manual and vice versa. In an emergency situation where immediate manual control is needed, this causes a lag in manual take-over which is highly undesirable. Further, in the event of a malfunction in the automatic control system, the rudder or plane could be driven radically to cause a dangerous vehicle maneuver. Many systems of the prior art have no means for preventing this from occurring. Systems that have been developed in the prior art for preventing out-of-control maneuvering in the event of a malfunction in the automatic control system tend to be overly complicated and costly in their implementation, and as with most complicated systems, tend to have less reliability than simpler implementations.
The present invention overcomes the aforementioned shortcomings of the prior art in providing a simple and highly reliable servo system utilizing synchros in its implementation, wherein manual override of the automatic control system is afforded at all times without need for operating any switches or the like. Further, in the system of the invention, the amount of automatic control possible is limited in a simple and reliable manner so that it is virtually impossible for an "out-of-control" condition to occur in the event of malfunction of the automatic control system.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an improved maneuvering control system for a vehicle having both manual and automatic control inputs.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a vehicle maneuvering control system in which immediate manual override of automatic control is afforded.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a vehicle maneuvering control system having highly reliable means for preventing undesirable radical maneuvers in the event of a malfunction of the automatic control system.